Fallout: War Ends with Us
by ownedbybaby
Summary: Growing up in the Vault with his best friend and adopted sister was the life that Eren's father had wanted for him. However, a father's love can only go so far. Escaping the Vault, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, the Vault 101 Trio sets off into the Capital Wasteland. There they'll search for the reason behind Girsha's disappearance, and do their best to help others along the way.


_**I know I'm tardy to the Fallout party, and as much as I wanted to write this AU using Fallout 4's story, I found it difficult to do so. So, why not write about one of my favorite games and anime series? Now I know I should work on Tokyo Ghoul Root Q or that long forgotten Phantomtale story I started a while ago, but I need change yo. Anyway, since I've bought and played Attack on Titans: Wings of Freedom for the PC, I felt my love for the series return as I played as Eren (who I pretty much only play as), and felt the urge to write a fanfiction about Attack on Titan.**_

 _ **Oddly enough, I even considered writing a crossover between Attack on Titan and Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta or even ZZ. Let me know what you think about that if you could so kindly.**_

 _ **Enough of my loneliness, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!**_

* * *

Darkness, an absolute blackness surrounded the infant through its nine month development. Though the infant would hear vague noises from outside the womb, the most accustomed noise was the beating of the mother's heartbeat; a sound that the infant had all the while become very familiar with.

So when it came time that the small world of darkness to end, the first bleak shine of light erupted into vision, the infant was bombarded with the humming noises of machinery around him. Not knowing on what else to do, the infant begun to cry as blood was wiped away.

It was then that a voice, gentle and even vaguely familiar to the infant became soothing to the ears of the now newborn child. "Let's see… Are you a boy, or a girl?" The voice belong to that of that of a man's. Though the vision of the newborn was still adjusting its eyes for the first time, the child could still make out two silhouettes of figures that stood in front. "It's a boy… A boy!" The man spoke once more, now with excitement beginning to show more in his tone. "We have a son, Carla! A beautiful, healthy, baby boy!"

"Oh Grisha…" A still gentle, yet higher pitched voice of a woman became audible as well to the newborn, and served as the second voice he had the pleasure of hearing. Despite being a newborn, he no longer felt the urge to cry as he begun to listen with as much curiosity as a boy his age could muster. "We did it… A son… Our beautiful son." She repeated through gasps. The figure with a ponytail beside Girsha gave him a nod before moving back, allowing the father to lean in closer to his son.

"You have a bright future ahead of you son, I'm sure of it…" Girsha stated, his curled smiled hidden behind a white facial mask. "Look at you!... Look at you…" He spoke cheerfully as he gave his son a small wave. "Hi there, I'm your daddy little guy; "daddy"..." Girsha gave a quick look away from his son's beautiful green eyes toward the IMV beside the bedside of Carla before looking back down. "You're mother and I have been talking… What do you think about "Eren"? That's a good name, don't you think? It fits you perfectly…" Not wanting to break the moment between father and son, but still wanting to express herself, Carla chuckled weakly in approval. Girsha placed his gloved hand over Eren's head and caressed it lovingly. "It's a big world out there son, filled with all sorts of people… What about you? I wonder what kind of person-"

"... Girsha?" As if on cue, upon speaking to her husband, the heart rate on the IMV begun to pick up suddenly. Letting go of his son's head, Girsha's eyes widen as he took a look a the increased rhythm displayed on the IMV's monitor. "Something… Something's… Wrong…" Carla said as she could feel pain surging through her chest.

"Carla…?"

"... Girsha…"

"Carla!" Quickly turning his head over his shoulder, he locked eyes with the other figure. "She's in cardiac arrest! I'll start compressions!" He ordered as he moved toward his wife's side.

"... Eren…!" Carla panted as she eyed her child. Frustrated, but also not wanting to stress the newborn, Girsha gave one last look over his shoulder at the figure with determination in his eyes.

"Get Eren out of here! Move, move!" The sudden loud noises blaring into his ears along with being picked up by the other figure with thick glasses, Eren begun to cry as he was carried out. "One-one thousand, two-one thousand…" Girsha muttered to himself as he begun chest compressions on his beloved wife. "Hang on Carla, hang on… please…"

* * *

One year later, Eren along with his adopted sister were in their room, more specifically, in their pen; just where their father had put them. In fact, Girsha was quite surprised that Eren was still in his gated baby pen, rather than wondering around his room. The only thing that would thwart his son's attempts in escaping were either when Girsha would block the entrance of the pen with a chair, or when his sister, Mikasa, would prevent him from coming close to the gate.

He had just gotten off work, and as usual, rather than taking off his lab coat, Girsha had headed straight to his children's room. "Afternoon my dears." He greeted his children with a smile. Opening the pen's gate, he squated parallel from Eren and Mikasa. "Over here, walk over to daddy!" He smiled as he beckoned the toddler toward him. He watched with enthusiasm and waited patiently as Eren begun to lift himself up from his sitting position.

Girsha had been trying to teach Eren how to properly move since he became nine months old. Word had gotten around the Vault that Mr. Arlet's grandson had begun walking as early as six months old. And although Girsha wouldn't consider himself to be a jealous man by no means, he would be lying if he said that hearing that news didn't crush his fatherhood pride.

On one hand, Mikasa seemed to have no issue getting up and walking by herself when asked to. However, one thing that Girsha had come to conclude upon observing them both, is that Mikasa would only stand up and wait beside Eren, thus leading him to believe that she was waiting for him as well. And it had been that way ever since Mikasa had first learned to walk from the age of eight months.

"Come on buddy, you can do it!" Girsha cheered Eren as he clapped his hands. "Look, your sister is waiting for you! You can't keep a lady waiting Eren, it's rude." He jokingly said as he watched Eren carefully pushing himself from the ground with his chubby toddler arms. Staring intently at his son's progress, Girsha found himself holding his breath as Eren was about to stand up. It was then that the toddler begun to tumble backward from the force he used to push himself up, and before Girsha could even think to run over to catch his son, Mikasa was already ahead of him. Using her own strength, Mikasa grabbed hold of Eren's arm to catch him, and even prevented him from falling.

Jaw agape at what he had witnessed of the toddler's strength, he soon composed himself as he watched the sweet scene before him. Clumsy for adult standards, but considerably dexterous considering her age, Mikasa lowered her grasp and held on to Eren's hand. Keeping balance, she begun to walk slowly forward toward their father while Eren stumbled forward. "There you go…" Girsha whispered under his breath. He felt himself tensing as he watched Mikasa staring down Eren's hand for a moment. With a hesitant frown on her face, she reluctantly let go of Eren's hand, but stood by his side as both she and her father waited for Eren to take the first baby steps on his own. With a notable uneasiness in his young eyes, Eren took a careful pace forward; shutting his eyes as he did. Upon opening them, Eren's face grew into a delight as he begun to take more and more steps toward his father. "My goodness… Already a year old, and walking like a pro!" Girsha praised as he ran his fingers through Eren's brown hair. "And of course, with help from your amazing sister!" He chuckled before patting Mikasa on the head. "Your mother would have been so proud…" He smiled, a faint memory of his beloved wife came to mind as he stared down at his children. Girsha then bent down further to lift both children in his arms before placing them back in the pen. "Listen kids, I know you don't like it when I leave you two alone, but I have to go out for a minute. Mikasa," he smiled at his daughter, to which she looked back him with her grey eyes upon being addressed, "look after Eren for me and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble." Closing the pen behind him, Girsha pressed the button beside the metal frame of the door and waiting for the door to slide open. "I'll need to pick something up from my office, it'll just a minute, I promise…" Before exiting from the room, he gave one last smile to children before closing the door behind him.

As if on cue, Eren got up to his feet. Now with as much determination and confidence as a toddler could have, he stumbled toward the pen of the gate as fast as his little feet could carry him. Unfortunately for him, Mikasa was already a step ahead of him. Before he knew it, she stood between him and the gate with a look of disapproval. Her grey eyes darted toward the red ball that resided on the left of their pen, ushering for her brother to play with the ball instead. But alast, Eren's quench for adventure wasn't going to be denied over his over protective sister. Mustering all the power he had, Eren tried pushing his sister out of the way, but found that she hadn't even budged an inch from his efforts. If anything, his attempts to tackled down Mikasa had only served to cause him to tumble back. With tears in his eyes, Eren whimpered as he made his way toward the red ball. Pleased by her brother's actions, Mikasa allowed herself to ease her toddler guardian urge for the time being in order to play with her beloved brother. However, it was then that she saw Eren kicking the ball toward her direction. Although she managed to move out of the way, looked back to see that Eren was no longer in sight.

As if on pure reflex, she quickly hobbled back over to the gate to stand her ground once more. However, it was when her back was against the gate of the pen did she feel the sudden vibration from the gate behind her. Looking over to where the red ball had landed, her eyes shot wide open as Eren lift himself over the side of the pen with the red ball being used to elevate himself. Eren squealed in victory as he rolled over onto the grey sheets of the bed in the corner of the small room.

Now in a minor panic, Mikasa quickly opened the pen door and made her way to the foot of the bed. Just as Eren was about to fall head first onto the metal floor below, Mikasa grabbed hold of his torso and twirled around to break his fall. Sitting on the floor, she looked over Eren's shoulder to make sure he was okay, and felt relieved upon seeing his bubbly face smiling back at her. Breaking free from her hold, Eren moved over to the toy box. As much as Mikasa wanted to go back to the pen with Eren, she soon gave in to her toddler urges as soon as she saw Eren pull out a teddy bear.

It wasn't long after when Girsha returned to see both his children outside their pen and playing on the yellow mat near the toybox. He chuckled as he shook his head. "Et tu, Mikasa?" Girsha smiled. Crossing his arms, he sighed playfully as he met eyes with Eren. "Serves me right to try and keep you in one place, you little explorer…" Girsha's stare then shifted over to the end table beside the toybox. "Come over here you two, I want to show you something." Letting go of the rattler she was playing with, Mikasa stood up and yanked Eren up to feet as the two made their way over to where their father had beckoned them. Kneeling down beside the end table, Girsha placed a hand on the wooden picture-frame that housed a white piece of paper with black writing on it. "It was your mother's favorite quote… It's from the bible." He explained before clearing his throat. "Revelation 21:6. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of water of life freely." He recited before a long sigh escaped his lips. "She always loved reading that quote…" Looking back to his children, he changed his expression to that of a brighter one as he got back up to his feet. "Come on you two, let's go see if your little friend Armin wants to play."

* * *

Nine years later, a sudden bright flash dazed Eren as he entered the dining area where his father was waiting for him. "Surprise!" The entire room shouted in unison as the lights were turned on.

"Dr. Jaeger, you turned the lights on too fast! You nearly blinded the poor kid!" Hannes shouted as he clapped along with everyone else in the room. Girsha chuckled at the security guard's comment before leading everyone with a happy birthday cheer to Eren.

"Can you believe it? He's growing up so fast…" Mr. Arlet spoke as he sat down in one of the two red booths in the room. Nodding, Girsha looked over to his son.

"Happy birthday, pal! I can't believe you're already ten!" His father said with a chuckle. "I'm so proud of you…!"

"Thanks dad! All I did was grow up, no big deal, really." Eren replied back with a smile of his own. However, upon meeting eye contact with his father, Eren noticed a small wince in Girsha's face. Before Eren could ask his father why he did that, Girsha shook his head before giving a long sigh.

"If only your mother was…"

"Congratulations young man." Eren looked over to who had interrupted his father to see none other than the Overseer of the vault himself. "I don't have to tell you how special this day is, do I?" The short, slightly overweight man with a black thin mustache declared as he made his way to Eren.

"Erm… Actually, I would like if you told me how special this day was." Eren asked with a sheepish smile on his face. Sitting with his grandfather and Mikasa, Armin sighed as he felt the urge to facepalm. He knew that Eren didn't like surprises, so he had secretly told him beforehand of the birthday party his father and Historia had planned out for him. Armin even recalled being there with Mikasa as he told him the importance of turning ten years old to Eren. He could only give another sigh as he scolded himself for not testing Eren afterward. The Overseer meanwhile, didn't look very impressed with the child.

"When you turn ten, well… You're ready to take on your first-official vault responsibilities." Brushing off the obliviousness of the child, almost deciding on whether or not asking him if he had been born under a rock, but decided better considering the irony of the joke. "Here you are," the man said as he presented the boy with an arm-device, "as Overseer, I hereby present to you your very own Pip-Boy 3000… Get used to it." He said with a bit of salt as he watched Eren take hold of it. "You'll be getting your first work assignment tomorrow!" He said with a belly-laugh before turning away to head toward the jukebox. Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, Girsha smiled warmly.

"Enjoy your party kiddo, you're only ten once, so have fun!" Without wasting anytime, Eren rushed over to show off his Pip-Boy over where Armin and Mikasa sat.

"Hey guys, check it out! A computer!" Eren proclaimed with a large grin on his face as he held it out to Armin.

"I suppose one could call it that…" Armin muttered in response. "... May I?"

"Sure thing, buddy!" Eren replied back with a smile as he handed the device to his best friend. Taking a look around the Pip-Boy, Armin studied the features and design of the device before turning it on. "Hey! It's not even on my arm yet!"

"I'm setting it up for you." Armin replied back casually, not once taking his eyes away from the display of the Pip-Boy. "Knowing you, you'll probably get frustrated trying to start it up in the first place…"

"Yeah right! How hard can it be?" Eren asked, but was soon silenced as Mikasa shoved her forearm in front of him so that her own Pip-Boy was presented. She watched as his facial features dropped from its previous confidence into one of overwhelment. "What the… How the hell am I suppose-" He was then quickly shushed by a finger against his lip as Mikasa frowned.

"Don't curse around other people, especially Mr. Arlet." Mikasa scolded quietly, as to not make a scene. The Grandfather chuckled at the girl's actions before taking a sip of his Nuka-Cola.

"No need there, Ms. Ackerman; I'm well aware of the sailor-mouth your brother has on him!" He said reassuringly. Although this caused both Armin and Eren to giggle, Mikasa could only grumble as she pulled her finger away from Eren's soft lips.

"... And there we go." Armin said in triumph as he handed Eren back his Pip-Boy. "I enabled the feature to autonomously decrypt radio signals and save them in your database for later use."

"... Uhm… That's cool I guess." Eren said, doing his best to show that he hadn't the faintest idea of what his best friend said.

"That means you can listen to music." Mikasa explained to him with a calm voice. Upon hearing Mikasa's simplified explanation, Eren's eyes widened in joy.

"Oh sweet! Thanks Armin!" Eren said as he leaned over the booth to wrap his arms around his best friend. Leaning close to his ear, Eren made sure that no one else was beside him. "... Does that mean my Pip-Boy can show me the outside too…?" Upon hearing his friend's question, Armin felt himself tense up before pulling Eren down by the collar of his vault-suit.

"Shhh…! Don't go telling everyone about that…!" Armin scolded in a hushed tone. Composing himself, he let go of Eren's collar before taking in a deep breath. "But yes, your Pip-Boy is now identical to that of Mikasa's." Looking up, Eren found himself met with Mikasa's condescending glare while Mr. Arlet did his best to play it off as if he didn't hear what he had heard.

"Happy Birthday!" A voice came from behind, scaring Armin to the point where Eren had to cover his best friend's mouth to muffle the yelp. Turning around, Eren smiled at the blond daughter of the Overseer that stood behind him.

"Hey there, Historia." Eren smirked confidently as he turned to greet the short girl.

"Hello Eren! How are you enjoying the party?" She asked in a feminine tone that Mikasa didn't very much care to hear.

"It's a great party! Thanks for doing this for me!" Eren said praisingly.

"I'm glad to hear that! You know, you're father was worried that you would find out about the party, but I knew better! You're pretty easy to fool, you know." She said playfully. Much to Armin's dismay, Eren actually appeared to be taken aback by the comment.

"You didn't fool me!... Erm, I just pretended not know… Yeah." Eren said in his best attempt to cover his lie. At this point, Mikasa looked over next to her to see Armin with his head down in arms; silently groaning to himself as he did.

"You're such a liar!" Historia said accusingly while still having playful tone to her voice.

"I'm serious! I'm smarter than everyone thinks, you know!"

"Okay, if you're so smart… Then what did I get you for your birthday?"

' _Damn!_ ' Eren cursed in his head as he was caught off guard once again. "Um… I really have no idea." He admitted with a look of childish defeat.

"Ha! I knew I would get you!" Historia declared in a triumphant manner. "I'll give you a hint… Who's your favorite barbarian?" It took Eren a moment to think about the answer. Being the comic book junkie he was, it took him a bit longer to decide which protagonist she was referring to. That's when it finally dawned on him, and his face said it all as Historia took the moment to pull out a rolled up comic book from her jumpsuit.

"You don't mean…"

"Oh but I do!" Unrolling the red covered comic book in front of her, she watched as Eren's eyes lit up. "Behold! Grognak the Barbarian, issue number fourteen; no pages missing too!" Eren let out a childish squeal as he found himself hopping up and down in pure joy. Had it not been for the fact that it wasn't her that made Eren so happy, she might have smiled like Armin upon seeing his reaction. Feeling her cheeks beginning to burn up, she hid her face into the red scarf that Eren had given to her for her birthday a while back ago.

"Thank you so much! I… I can't wait to read it!" Eren said in an almost worshipping manner as he embraced the smaller girl. Even Armin had to look over to catch a glimpse of Mikasa's reaction, which was hidden by the scarf, which at that point had covered up her entire face.

"You're welcome Eren, haha!" She smiled as she returned the hug. "I should let you go back to enjoying your party, no need for me to interrupt you." Historia chuckled as she broke the hug. "Enjoy your party!" With that said, she returned to stand beside her father. However, rather than enjoy his daughter's company, the Overseer looked over his shoulder at Eren before approaching him.

"Why haven't you put your Pip-Boy on?" The Overseer asked in an annoyed tone.

"I haven't gotten around to that yet." Eren replied plainly, to which the Overseer sighed.

"Have Mikasa show you how to put it on for crying out loud! It's against regulation to have your Pip-Boy removed during working hours!" When Eren rolled his eyes, Mr. Arlet felt his heart skip a beat as he watch the shock in the Overseer's eyes. "Why you…! You need to show me respect, now that I'm technically your boss now! I mean, even my daughter, who for whatever reason seems to have an interest in you, went out of her way to make this party for you!"

"She did a great job, but you didn't even help, so why bring that up?"

"Because I'm… You know what? It's your birthday, so I'll let it slip this time, Jaeger. Enjoy your party..." With that said, the Overseer stomped back over to his concerned daughter.

"What an asshole…"

"You better watch your attitude, Jaeger, or you'll be working with a mop for the rest of your life!" A voice came from behind Mr. Arlet, over to where two boys sat at in the other booth. "Actually, you know what? I think a mop suites you well."

"Jean…" Eren muttered scornfully under his breath as he quickly recognized the other boy's voice.

"Eren, I think you should just take a moment to-"

"Not now Armin…" Eren quickly interrupted as he approached the group of boys.

"Hey look, it's the future-servant himself!" Jean gestured toward Eren in front of his friend with a smirk on his face. "How about you get a headstart on your future, and go on and get me a slice of cake? After all, you'll be working for me someday, I'm sure." Clenching his fingers into fists, Eren gritted his teeth as he glared daggers at the smug look Jean was giving him. "Do you speak english? Or do I have to get a translator to speak idiot for- oh great." Jean grumbled as his expression darkened. Looking over to where Jean was looking toward, Eren's face dropped as he watched Andy, the Mister Handy robot, split the saw blade straight into the cake; horror filling Eren's eyes as gibs of frosted cake flew everywhere. "My condolences, Jaeger… Now how about you go fetch me a bottle of Nuka-Cola instead? I'm sure that will do for now." Just having witnessed the massacre of his birthday cake, Eren quickly to turn his head back with a his a pissed off look.

"You do look thirsty. What, your mom drank up all the ration coupons again?" With that said, Eren watched Jean's expression turn into annoyance as he stood up from his seat to glare at Eren.

"At least I have a mother, bastard." Armin, who had been watching, felt his heart drop upon overhearing what Jean had just said. Armin covered his eyes as he knew what was to come next. With a sudden smack followed by a thud, Armin uncovered his hands from his eyes to see Jean on the floor. However, Eren was standing frozen in shock, with his fist still in the air.

"If Eren didn't hit him… Mikasa?" Looking to where Jean had his back turned, Armin saw Mikasa standing with her fist still extended out to where she had knocked the boy down.

After having been done taking a quick swig from his flask, Hannes was the last to realize what had happened. Cursing under his breath, he stumbled off his stool and rushed over to grab hold of Mikasa's elbow. "Mikasa, what the hell?!"

"He called Eren a bastard." Was all Mikasa responded while still keeping her stare at Jean, who was now crying on the floor.

"Wait, Mr. Hannes!" Armin called out as he quickly left his seat to rush over to where the two stood.

"Armin? What is it?" Hannes asked. Had it been anyone else beside the trio of children, they wouldn't have notice the small glimmer of relief in the security guard's eyes. "Do you have something you want to say?"

"I do, sir." Armin said with a polite nod as he placed his hand over Mikasa's shoulder. "Eren's been her brother all her life, he and Dr. Jaeger are her only family, and you know as well as I do how easily Eren gets into trouble… She was just being protective of him because, well… That's how she's always been."

"I know… You've told me before…" Hannes whispered before sighing. Taking a glance over to where the Overseer was looking upon them, Hannes quickly perked up and placed a hand on Mikasa's shoulder. "Alright Ms. Ackerman, come with me; I'll just take you for a walk so you can cool down; then we'll get you back to Eren, how's that sound?" Mikasa looked over to Armin, and gave both him and Hannes a discreet smile of appreciation.

"Very well." With the two leaving the party, Armin quickly went to Jean side and helped him back to his feet.

"Up and at 'em, Jean." Armin sighed as he grabbed a napkin from the table of the booth to give to Jean. "You know, you really shouldn't have said that." Wiping his eyes, Jean gave a small nod.

"I know… I just… I don't know..." Jean muttered quietly as he choked out the last of his tears before trying to compose himself. Looking at Armin, Jean noticed the blond boy's eyes darting over to where Eren stood dumbfoundingly. Groaning softly under his breath, Jean extended his hand out toward the birthday boy. "I'm sorry I insulted you, Jaeger; I shouldn't have acted that way, especially on your birthday." Eren, not knowing how to respond, looked over toward Armin for guidance. After being given a nod to go on ahead, Eren accepted Jean's gesture.

"It's alright Jean, I think we both said things that we shouldn't have mentioned… Besides, I'm sorry that Mikasa hit you."

"I'm sorry about that too…" Jean said with a small throaty laugh before wincing in pain. "For real, Mikasa has a heavy hand on her… I think I'm going to be feeling this one for a while." Eren, despite what had just transpired between the two merely moments ago, laughed along with Jean.

"No kidding, I've seen the kind of bruises Mikasa leaves behind; they're not pretty at all." Armin agreed before placing a hand on Jean's shoulder. "In fact, I think it's best we go on and get some ice for that over at medical; how's that sound Jean? We can talk about how things are at home on the way there if you want." There were few people Jean felt he could trust, and although Armin was the best friend of Eren Jaeger, he felt as though the his way with words made him very trustworthy.

"That would be… Very appreciated, Armin." Jean said with a smile before turning to face Eren. "Happy Birthday Jaeger; have a good rest of the day, for what it's worth."

"You too Jean." The soon-to-be-bruising boy gave a nod to Eren before waving back at his friend before leaving with Armin by his side. Eren's eyes followed the two even when they left the dining area and watched as they disappeared into the hallway from the window.

"Can I have a moment, Eren?" Looking over to the freckled face of Jean's best friend, Eren smiled as he nodded.

"Sure Marco… Shoot."

"I know that you and Jean butt heads quite a lot, but try and realize that he's only doing that because things aren't so great at home… What you said sort of struck as much as nerve as what he said to you." Marco said in a patronizing tone.

"I know… I'm sorry about that."

"I think it's Jean who's sorry after what Mikasa did, eh?" Marco said jokingly before sighing. "But try to take that with a pinch of salt next time Jean says something like that. Oh, and happy birthday Eren!"

"Thanks Marco… Dad?" Looking at the hand placed on his shoulder, Eren looked up to see his father smiling warmly and excitedly at him. "What is it dad?"

"Mr. Arlet and I have your birthday gift ready for you; he managed to slip out when Hannes took Mikasa out for a bit to cool down." Grisha briefed his son with a giddy smile of his own. "He's down in the reactor area, why don't the two of us slip out for a bit? We'll be back before anyone notices." Curious on what his gift could be, along with the fact that both Armin and Mikasa were no longer at the party, Eren was more than willing to go along with his dad's plan.

"Alright, sounds good!" Without waiting for his father, Eren rushed out and down the hallway. Running downstairs, Eren almost tripped and held on to a wall to regain his balance. Rebounding himself, he leapt into the room downstairs that housed a reactor and found Mr. Arlet rustling his fingers in his own thick facial hair before running over to him. "Mr. Arlet, I'm here!"

"What are you doing down here, young man? I thought kids weren't allowed down in the reactor level." Mr. Arlet questioned in a slightly playful tone as he held his arms on the sides of his waist, as if he were patronizing Eren.

"Apparently ten years old means I'm not a kid anymore though… Or atleast that's what Armin told me." Eren reasoned as he chuckled.

"You sure are! Pip-Boy and all!" Mr. Arlet exclaimed with a laugh as slapped his knee. "I think you're dad actually wanted to show you the surprise himself." Eren's face instantly became less excited at the mere mention of the word 'surprise'.

"Mr. Arlet's got that right!" His dad spoke as he entered the reactor room. "Are you ready for your surprise son?"

"Dad, you know I don't like surprises."

"Regardless, I think you're going to like this surprise. Mr. Arlet, if you will."

"Aye aye, Dr. Jaeger." The grandfather replied with a two finger salute. Going into the next room, it only took a few moments for Mr. Arlet to come back with a small rifle in his hand, or at least, what looked like one. Eren's eyes lit up as Mr. Arlet got down on one knee and held the toy gun up in the same fashion that a knight would do when presenting his king a sword. "Milord."

"It's a BB-Gun; Mr. Arlet found it in a pretty rough condition down here while doing maintenance on the reactors." Girsha explained as he watched his son's trembling fingers greedily grasp hold of the BB-Gun. "It took us a few months to fix it up; you'd be surprised how hard it is to find a spring that small."

"Awesome… What do I get to shoot?" Eren asked as he cletched the BB-Gun like a soldier would with their rifle.

"Easy now… Mr. Arlet and I found a great spot for you to try that out… Follow me." Following both his father and Armin's grandfather into the room where the BB-Gun was kept, Eren stepped into a slightly elongated room. Judging by several crates scattered against the walls of the room along with the locker that laid on its side that separated the rest of the room from a small area with makeshift targets, Eren could only guess that the room was long forgotten. "You can come down here to practice shooting whenever you want, just as long as Mikasa is with you."

"Shouldn't be much of a problem, she's always following me…" Eren muttered as he pressed the butt of the BB-Gun to his shoulder and looked down the sights. "What about Armin, can he come too?"

"I'm sure he would be more than happy to be hanging around you Eren, but uh… Good luck trying to convince Armin to try shooting anything; I don't see him as someone who would be into this kind of thing." Mr. Arlet chuckled as he hopped on a metallic crate to sit on. "Go on Eren, show us old guys how it's done!" Smirking, Eren gave the man a firm nod as he rushed over behind the flipped locker and took aim at the middle target.

Although he never fired a gun, even if it wasn't a real one at that, he did see some characters in his comics using them, so he had a general idea how to handle a rifle. Jerking his finger back, the sudden pop from the BB-Gun had caught him off guard. Wincing, he watched as the BB missed and instead rickashay off the metal wall behind the target.

"Try squeezing the trigger, son." Girsha suggested as he knelt behind his son. Not wanting to disappoint his father, Eren nodded and took his time with lining the sights with the target. Following his father's instructions, his eyes lit up with excitement as he the target swung a full three hundred-sixty degrees upon impact. "Good job… Uh oh, a radroach." Girsha announced as he pointed over to the large three-foot length roach that crawled into view. "Go on and take care of it before it becomes a problem."

"Go it!" Eren spoke a near-shouting voice as he glared hatefully at the accursed insect. "Say your prayers, bitch…" While Girsha didn't look too pleased with hearing his son swear, Mr. Arlet on the other hand couldn't help but give a small laugh at the boy's choice of vocabulary. Having the radroach in his sights, Eren smirked as he pulled the trigger; only to be taken aback at the sudden sporadic movement of the insect. "Stay still, you prick!" Firing again, Eren had found that he had missed once more. Gritting his teeth, he proceeded to spray and pray at the fast moving insect. It wasn't long until he had ran out of BBs.

"Eren… How about you let me take-" Before Girsha could finish his sentence, he watched as Eren leapt over the locker and into the same space as the radroach. "Eren, get back here now!" Fearing for his son's safety as the radroach emitted a sickening rattling noise, Girsha found himself sprinting over to where his son was. When he got near the locker where Eren had previously stood behind however, he felt himself freeze in his tracks as he watched Eren swing the butt of the BB-Gun down like one would use a golf club. With the radroach toppled over, Eren roared a childish, yet furious, battle cry as he stomped down on the abdomen of the radroach with a sickening crunch. The creature let out one last squeal as the insides of the radroach pooled around itself before going completely still. "Eren…"

"I did it… I did it!" Eren cheered as he took a step off his first and latest kill. However, his victory wasn't long lived as he felt himself being lifted from his feet by a pair of familiar hands. "... Dad?"

"Dammit Eren, don't ever do anything like that again!" His father had always been a reserved man, and an even more supportive parent. The number of times Eren could recall Girsha ever raising his voice before could be counted on a single hand; the only way the boy felt he could react was to be quiet. Mr. Arlet however, having been very experienced with parenting, noted Eren's reaction and soon hopped off the chair toward his rescue.

"Now, now, no harm done, eh good doctor?" Mr. Arlet chimed in as he gave a pat on Grisha's back. "You know as well as I do that Eren can get a little carried away, but he means well."

"This is different, he could have gotten himself-"

"But he didn't." Mr. Arlet said interrupting, very much unlike him to do so. Adjusting the brim of his straw hat, Mr. Arlet placed a hand on the boy's head and ran his fingers through his brown hair. "Besides, next time he'll have Mikasa and Armin with him; so there's no point in dwelling on what could have happened differently, now is there?" A moment of silence passed only briefly before Girsha knelt down lower to embrace his son.

"Just… Try not to be so impulsive; I can't have you getting hurt, son." Girsha said with a smile. "Now… How about a picture to capture the moment?" Taking a second to compose himself, Eren replied with a big goofy grin and an excited nod. "Outta boy! Arlet, mind getting the camera and getting a picture of me and the big game hunter?"

"One step ahead of you, doc." Mr. Arlet said with a chuckle as he picked up a camera that had been resting on top of a crate. Grabbing his BB-Gun, Eren rushed over to the left of his father and smiled the cheesiest grin he could muster. With the camera's lens aiming at them, he prepared himself for the picture. "Smile!" Mr. Arlet said, before snapping the picture of the father and son.

* * *

Five years had passed since then. Even so, the test of time stood dormant in Eren's mind as he dreamed that night of his tenth birthday. If he had only knew what news was to greet him upon awakening, he surely would have savored the dream far more than he usually did. After all, it would be the last time he would ever sleep in his bed again.

* * *

 _ **A bit slow, I know; but hey, I always love me some good ol' fashion character development to go alongside with my coffee. Anyways, for those who read this far, I thank you sincerely for giving time from your day to read this.**_

 _ **For those who are wondering why I didn't have Eren, Mikasa, or Armin take the G.O.A.T. Exam, it was because of two reasons.**_

 _ **1) Despite how it goes against the Fallout 3 universe, I wanted them to be fifteen years old when they leave the Vault rather than being nineteen or even sixteen.**_

 _ **2) Who wants to read about someone taking an exam? I don't. Besides, when I wrote it, I felt as though the segment wasn't very long, nor did it have any real place in this story. I mean, this story will be focusing mostly on the main story of Fallout 3, but I'll do side missions and other jazz perhaps. I'm actually playing Fallout 3 in correspondence with the story; so that's how I'm writing this.**_

 _ **Once again, thank you for reading and I would love to read feedback and requests if possible! Have a good day!**_


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